When Literature Becomes Opera

Study of a Transformational Process
Erscheinungsjahr 1999
ISBN: 978-90-420-0694-2
Verlag: Brill | Rodopi

Buch, Englisch, Band 8, 160 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 269 g

Reihe: Chiasma

Perhaps no other art form in the Western world has polarized opinion to the same extent as opera. While its devotees can be almost fanatical in their enthusiasm, its detractors will dismiss lyric theatre as an impossible hybrid. Literature and music undermine one another when brought together, they maintain. Their contempt for the genre is more often than not motivated by the supposedly mediocre quality of the librettos or scripts to which the works are set as well as the implausibility of characters singing instead of speaking their emotions. But what if these much maligned scripts provided composers with the raw material necessary to convert stereotypes into exemplary figures and place them in powerfully dramatic situations? What if the "unreality" of opera opened up gripping vistas onto the reality of human emotions? When Literature Becomes Opera strives to answer these questions by analyzing the artistic process through which literary texts are simplified then transformed into lyric dramas. Using as examples eight outstanding operas inspired by works of French writers (Rigoletto, La traviata, Carmen, Thaïs, La Bohème, Tosca, Pelléas et Mélisande and Dialogues des Carmélites), this study demonstrates that a libretto, like a film script, enters into a partnership with the art it serves: music. When the quality of the partnership is high, all of opera's liabilities that purists take pleasure in deriding become stunning assets.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rosmarin, Leonard

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements. Introduction. PART 1: REINFORCING THE CENTRE OF GRAVITY. Rigoletto or Monterone's Curse. La traviata or Violetta's Moral Ascension. Carmen or Rendezvous with Death. Thaïs or the Sublimation of Eros. La Bohème or a Farewell to Youth. Tosca or the Confrontation between two Monstres Sacrés. Pelléas et Mélisande or Fatal Attraction. Dialogues des Carmélites or the Transfer of Grace. Notes. PART 2: THE CREATION OF EXEMPLARY FIGURES. Rigoletto: The Irresistible Cad, the Love-Sick Virgin and the Martyred Father. La traviata: The Saintly Courtesan. Carmen: Life-force vs. Totalitarian Passion. Thaïs: The God-Seeking Hetaera and the Sex-Obsessed Puritan. La Bohème: Lovable Marginals. Tosca: Noble Art vs. Evil Art. Pelléas et Mélisande: The Dysfunctional Family. Dialogues des Carmélites: Figures of Fear, Hope and Pride. Notes. Conclusion. Bibliography.